A historic milestone for Catalan cinema at the European Film Awards

BarcelonaA large harvest of nominations for Catalan cinema at the European Film Awards (EFA), announced this Tuesday. Sirado, by Oliver Laxe; Afternoons of solitudeby Albert Serra, and Olivia and the Invisible EarthquakeIrene Iborra's film has garnered a total of eight nominations for the awards to be presented by the European Film Academy in Berlin on January 17. This represents an unprecedented success for Catalan cinema: the year ofAlcarràsFor example, Carla Simón's film was nominated in only two categories: best film and best screenplay. In contrast, Sirado It has four nominations: best film, best director (Oliver Laxe), original screenplay (Oliver Laxe and Santiago Fillol) and best actor (Sergi López). The actor from Vilanova had already won the award for best European actor in 2000 for Harry, a friend who loves youIf he were to win the award again, he would join the club of doubles winners that includes Mads Mikkelsen, Daniel Auteuil and Toni Servillo.

Afternoons of solitudeAlbert Serra's acclaimed documentary about bullfighting, is nominated for best documentary; being nominated in this category also qualifies the film to win best film, so, for all practical purposes, it has two nominations. The same applies to the animated film. Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, the first animated feature film stop motion in its original Catalan version, which will compete for the award for best animated film and, automatically, also for best film.

However, the most nominated film at this year's European Film Awards, and therefore the one to beat, is the family drama Sentimental valueThe Danish director Joachim Trier's film, which garnered five nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Stellan Skarsgård), and Best Actress (Renate Reinsve). Other notable films at this year's awards include... A simple accident, by Iranian Jafar Panahi (film, direction and screenplay), and Sound of falling, by German director Mascha Schilinski (film, direction, and screenplay). The four nominations of Sirado They are, in any case, a great boost to their aspirations for an Oscar nomination for best international film.